I met an insurance agent and invited him to my Towne Centre Chapter next Wednesday so he can see the networking concept in action!

Why is it the best networking diner? tables are so close you can't help but get to know the person next to you. http://ping.fm/LpkxE

The Best Breakfast & Sandwiches Diner is also the best diner to network in the area.

attending Business First Breakfast in Grandview Friday morning 7am! New Buckeye Hall of Fame Grille...

Excellent firms don't believe in excellence - only in constant improvement and constant change.--
Tom Peters

"Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom."--Thomas Jefferson

"Believe deep down in your heart that you're destined to do great things". --Joe Paterno

updated my AmSpirit blog at http://ping.fm/5x6k3

Had fun last night meeting fellow AmSpirit members at Average Joe's Pub. Glad to see Becky, our newest member, get to meet other members.

Updated my blogs this morning http://ping.fm/mM6LC
http://ping.fm/FLsUy
Today's topic was my best fishing story.

Perseverance is Key to Success

I woke up today thinking, "what a lucky guy I am to have the life that I have!" I've been blessed with a wonderful wife, good friends, family, and a business that I love to run every day. I also started thinking about what things have enabled me to be successful in my business thus far.

The #1 reason is that I have followed a process consistently that has delivered results. Too often we give up before we ever see the fruits of our labor. This made me think of an incident that happened to me when I was about 12 years old.

Every summer during my youth I spent a good amount of time fishing and camping with my family. On one of our camping trips, I spent an entire afternoon fishing off the end of a dock. I patiently watched the bobber at the end of my fishing line for at least a solid 2 hours with nothing to show for it, not even the slightest nibble.

During that same time there were probably 4 or 5 others fishing off the same dock, but after 20 minutes of inactivity, they all left. I sat and waited, and waited, and waited...

All of a sudden the bobber disappeared underneath the water's surface like someone had attached cinder block to the end of my line!! I jerked the line to set the hook and began reeling in whatever was on the other end. At the same time I began yelling for my Dad to come down to see what was happening.

I reeled in a "Channel Cat" (catfish) that was one of the largest fish I had ever caught, weighing about 10 lbs. and almost 30 inches long. When everyone in the campground area heard me yelling several made their way down to the dock to see what the commotion was all about.

Next thing I knew, there were about 10 other fisherman on the dock casting their lines into the water. Funny thing is, I don't remember if any of the others caught any other fish that afternoon.

What happened to the Channel Cat? I took him home in a very large bucket of water. Later that same day I delivered the fish to our neighbor next door, an old man who lived by himself by the name of Seif Friend. Dad said he loved to eat catfish and would really be surprised so see what I had brought to him. I'll never forget how his eyes lit up when he saw what was in the bucket!

The reason this story is relevant to me is that it is a perfect analogy to why some people are successful following processes and persevering, while others give up too soon. Whenever I get the least bit discouraged about business or networking in general, I remind myself to persevere just like I did that afternoon on the dock with my fishing line in the water.

Long term success in networking and business comes from following processes that work and not giving up too soon.

Attending the AmSpirit Business Connections MORE meeting at 11:30am at Winking Lizard on Bethel Rd. It's a great opportunity to network!

Good advice for start-up business owners-http://ping.fm/HCecp

http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-110110-energyvampires.html

Jon Gordon, one of my favorite authors, posted this newsletter this morning. Great information for anyone out there dealing with office politics or having a difficult time in working within groups.
http://www.jongordon.com/newsletter-110110-energyvampires.html

CAN-SPAM Tips For You

In 2003, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM Act) became law. Its purpose is to clean up all the junk emails clogging up our email inboxes every day, or at least minimize the amount of junk we get regularly sent to us as emails.

Continuing that clean-up, in 2008 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) modified the act, allowing email marketers to use their "accurately registered post office box or private mailbox" instead of a "valid physical postal address" in their emails.

The CAN-SPAM act is intended to identify and punish those who flagrantly violate the law, but following the guidelines will just make all of us better email marketers too.

Third Party Email Service Providers (ESP) Can Help

Reputable ESPs, like iContact, make it very easy to comply with key CAN-SPAM provisions.

You have to give subscribers a way to unsubscribe from your emails. Most ESPs help you comply by placing an unsubscribe link at the bottom of each email.

You must use a valid From email address. Some ESPs automatically send a validation email to the From email address or addresses you choose. This prevents email marketers from using an invalid email From address.

The law also requires that you include a postal box or physical mailing address in each commercial email you send.

What You Must Include in Every Email Marketing Message You Send

The CAN-SPAM act requires you to include a valid postal address in all of your emails. Most ESPs will take action if you attempt to send emails through their system without complying with this requirement. You'll notice in this email message that my office address is listed in the footer. Although it's easy enough to do, many people seem to forget this rule. But it is just good marketing, as greater transparency leads to greater trust by your subscribers.

The law requires that your emails include a relevant subject line. This is not only good law but smart marketing. If your email does not contain a good, relevant subject line, you will be out of compliance—and, more importantly, you won't entice your subscribers to consider your offer. Nobody wants to be tricked by deceptive or ambiguous subject lines. Treat your subscribers with something relevant that will help them.

In addition, studies have found that less than half email marketing messages are opened; so, if you have an ambiguous or deceptive subject line, you have missed a chance to put your brand or message in front of subscribers. Even if the subscriber does not open a particular email, he or she may be reminded of your brand or message by a relevant subject line and From address. It's probable that not all your subscribers always have time to read your emails... and so they browse, as they might newspaper headlines.

Do Not Cross the Permission Line

CAN-SPAM expressly forbids harvesting emails from the Web and similar practices, which are not only against the law but also harmful to your email marketing.

People and companies do business with companies to which have given permission to send marketing or informative email. They are often, rightly, more likely to file a spam complaint with their ISP if they receive spam.

Some spam complaints are inevitable, even with the best permission-based list; however, too many spam complaints damage the reputation of the IP address from which you are sending email, reducing the delivery rate to the core of your list—those who really want to hear from you.

Take It a Step Further

You can greatly enhance your legitimacy as an email marketer by not using a free email address but a real domain name (e.g., yourcompany.com)—although doing so is not required by CAN-SPAM. Use your free email address for personal emails but not for your email marketing campaigns. If you have not done so yet, register a domain name; it costs less than $20 per year. You can host the email for very little monthly cost too.

Though a subject such as "newsletter" might be relevant, it does not optimally inspire your subscribers to open the email; and if they do not open the email, the subject line does not reinforce your brand or message. Make your subject lines both relevant and compelling.

Please remember this important point: Meeting CAN-SPAM requirements is the responsibility of the sender, not the ESP. Reputable ESPs will assist senders in meeting the requirements, but the sender must be vigilant in adhering to the provisions of the act.

The second presentation of 'Building Your Networking Brand' will be at The Winking Lizard Restaurant on Bethel Rd. at 11:30am on 10/12.

Presenting 'Building Your Networking Brand' twice on Tuesday. First one at 7:30am at the Scioto Chapter at Scrambler's (Sawmill Pkwy).

People with low cost web sites have been conditioned on price, then want to aspire to higher quality without thinking pricing should change.

A friend said 'web sites sure have gotten expensive'. Actually, they haven't. It's just that bad web sites have always been cheap.

Wrapping up 3 projects by Monday. Meeting a new client later today from a referral. I'm fortunate that new business keeps finding me.

It's better to step away from an ill-fated process, than to try 'making it work'.

In business, we all reach a point where we have a proven process for success. Deviating from that process rarely ever works!

Endless Referrals, a great book for networkers. http://ping.fm/BQbzt

Attending Bob Burg's 'Endless Referrals' event at the Alladin Shrine Center today! It's going to be a great event!

Help enough people get what they want and you will also get what you want. Too often many people either forget that or choose 'me first'.

Busy day today, Executive Chapter at 7:45am, 9:30am with a resource, 11:30am at North Outerbelt Chapter, and web redesign meeting at 1:30pm.

Just finished updating some success stories from my networking group. http://ping.fm/qp4GU

I truly enjoyed making connections for others last night and this morning more so than getting business leads for myself. Networking works!

CONES went well last night, received several good leads. This morning I met with quite a few new contacts at Biz First Breakfast event.

Becoming a Font Detective

Have you ever had a brochure printed for you by a printing company and then later needed to edit and re-order that same marketing piece? Only to find out that no one had the original document, artwork, etc.? Worse yet, no one can determine the font in the document to be edited and re-printed.

If this ever happens to you and you need to determine a font, I found an excellent resource at www.identifont.com. You have two choices. If you know the name of the font or part of the name you can type it into the search bar. What I had to do, though, was identify a typeface by answering a series of questions. With each answer it narrowed down the number of potential fonts until I could clearly identify the font in my document. It took a few minutes but it worked!

I was able to give that information to my current printer and he was able to re-create exactly what I needed. So if you ever run into a similar situation, give Identifont a try. It really works!

Great meeting this morning. Potential for a redesigned web site and email marketing too.

Another great day in C-bus! I'm working on writing new content for a client web site, then having lunch with a long-time client.

I updated my AmSpirit blog today, read it here: http://ping.fm/FRmIr

My August newsletter was published this morning. You can read it at my blog at http://ping.fm/euAi0

Google Search Tips You May Not Know Exist

Even though we've all used Google for years now, I bet some of you have never heard or seen these Google search tips before. These can definitely help you get more out of using Google on a regular basis. Enjoy!

• Want to check the weather anywhere in the country?
  Type in 'weather' and the zip code right after into the Google search bar.
  

• Having a difficult time finding information on any web site?
  
  Enter your query, followed by "site:www.websitename.com," (i.e. "site:www.excelleweb.com") and click enter. You'll see only results from that website.

• Need to convert units of measurement?
  
  Google can convert units of measurement between the U.S. and metric systems, or between larger and smaller units of measurement. For example, typing "50 miles in kilometers" into the search bar yields the number of kilometers at the top of the results page. Entering "6 oz in pounds" or "2 inches to foot" will tell you the quantity in pounds and feet, respectively.
  

• Using Google Maps (maps.google.com) you can determine different directions depending upon your mode of transportation. Google Maps displays four icons above its "Get Directions" bar. Clicking each one pulls up either driving, public transit, walking, or biking directions. The different routes are plotted on the map and change depending on which form of transportation the user wants to use.

• Are you traveling abroad and need to know currency conversions?
  
  Currency conversion is easy and up-to-date with Google. Just type in the two currencies you wish to convert (i.e. "100 dollars in Canadian dollars.")
  

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Bruce Johnson Insurance Agency
Launches Web Site

Excelleweb is pleased to announce that the Bruce Johnson Insurance Agency, located in Dublin, Ohio has recently launched a new web site. They offer various health insurance policies for groups and individuals. Call Bruce Johnson to learn more about their services at (614)-764-9995 or visit www.brucejohnsoninsurance.com.

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Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

Mapped out a new site for a client this morning.

Great tip from Seth Godin. This applies to business and life in general...http://ping.fm/iHrFv

Perfect meeting today with a new client. Identified needs and also positioned another resource from my network to help rebuild their brand.

Meeting today that resulted from them receiving my email newsletters for four years and I stayed on top of mind til they were ready to meet.

Attending Dublin Premier chapter of AmSpirit.

Delivered another 'Social Media for Business' presentation today in Marysville, then a lunch meeting to plan a new web site for a client.

Two speaking engagements today. I just started reading 'The Mentor Leader' this morning too. So far, a great book.

I'm attending the Way West MORE meeting today, are you? http://ping.fm/HNFLF

I'm heading out to the Business First Breakfast in New Albany this morning (7am). It's a great place to meet new business contacts!

I published my July newsletter yesterday. You can read it on my blog at: http://ping.fm/ouVNn

How Do You Decide What is Important?

My wife, Cheryl, and I have really enjoyed cycling the past couple of years and have worn out the bike paths in and around Westerville, Ohio, where we live. Cheryl's brother visited recently and he is an avid cyclist as well from Arlington, Texas. He's ridden in many competitive races.

We were discussing what kinds of bikes to buy when we decide to upgrade what we currently have. He told us emphatically to 'Get the best bike you can afford'. Decide on the features you want and shop for the bikes that offer the most features for your price range. Do not shop based on price only. If you obsess over the price you will end up getting something that you'll be very unhappy with in a short time.

This makes a lot of sense as it relates to technology too. I often times run across potential clients who only want to spend X number of dollars on their web site. That's not a problem, unless they discard the most important benefits and/or features in the process.

What we should all do in making any buying decision is to decide what features/benefits are an absolute 'must'? What then can we live without? It can always be phased in later if necessary. If your web site has been scaled down so much because of cost concerns, is it providing any value? If it has no 'return on investment', any money put into it was wasteful. Prioritize your list of 'must haves' and phase them in over time. You'll eventually get where you need to be with your web site and not spend your budget foolishly.

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Cox-Colvin & Associates Launches Email Newsletter

Cox-Colvin & Associates recently launched their first email newsletter with the help of Excelleweb. They have a wide variety of expertise concerning environmental issues and are located in Plain City, Ohio. Please visit Cox-Colvin's web site to learn more about this environmental consulting firm (http://www.coxcolvin.com).

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Tom Anderson is the President/CEO of Excelleweb, LLC and can be reached at 614-679-0912 or by email at tom.anderson@excelleweb.com.

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Quote of the Month:

We do not quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing. --Oliver Wendell Holmes

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busy today helping to launch 2 new email campaigns for clients.

Funny and true...http://ping.fm/4QIXP

I'm reading 'Viral Loop' by Adam Penenberg. It provides insight on how successful companies have used social media to their advantage.

Lessons From John Wooden

I was saddened to hear of the passing of John Wooden, the legendary former basketball coach at UCLA. As great a coach that he was, he was an even greater person.

Many of the things he believed in can be integrated to business philosophy and also web site strategies. For example, here are a couple of his statements that I especially like:

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be." In business and with our web sites, we should constantly be innovating something in order to improve. Those who stand still and never want to leave their comfort zone will eventually fall behind their competitors and potentially never catch up. What can you be doing today to improve your web site or your business model?

"The little details are vital. Little things make big things happen." Don't ever underestimate the little things in your business. We are judged by our peers and our clients/prospects every day in ways that we may not ever be fully aware. That's why it is critical that we pay attention to the tiniest of details. My friend Gary Smith recently said, "Do what you say you're going to do." Meaning that when you make a promise, in business or in your personal life, live up to your word.

Have a great 'rest of the month' and I look forward to publishing again next month. If there are any specific topics related to the web or social media that you'd like for me to discuss, please let me know.

Excelleweb Raises Nearly $2K to Fight Diabetes

I, along with my wife and two friends, rode nearly 70 miles in a charity bike race on June 5th to help fund research to find a cure for Diabetes. Thanks to all of you who provided donations and/or encouragement for bicycling in this event.

Any golfers interested in playing on Friday at Chapel Hill Golf Course? 18 hole scramble, raffle prizes, food--tom.anderson@excelleweb.com

The AmSpirit Central Ohio Golf Outing at Chapel Hill--Deadline for registration is May 29th. Registration form is at http://ping.fm/rNr3f

Tour de Cure takes place on June 5th...please sponsor me in this bike race to fund research to fight Diabetes http://ping.fm/IIIVC

Ways to Improve Your Email Marketing

This month I'll share some tips with you on how to improve your email marketing efforts. While this is not a complete list, it will give you a great start on your way to becoming very effective using email as a tool to deepen relationships with your customers and prospects. Following is a list of things to consider when you begin your email campaigns:

• Ask for their email address. Duh! This is forgotten most of the time. What works for me is to ask for their business card and look to ensure an email address is listed. Then I simply ask if they would like to get my ‘complimentary’ email newsletter.
  

• What's in it for them? Make sure they know what you will be sending out on a periodic basis. If it’s just you ‘selling’ that’s probably not going to work. Let them know you’ll be providing valuable information, incentives, anything that will help them.
  

• Follow-through. Too often, marketers set expectations yet either don't follow through or stray from the promise. If you state that you’ll be sending a monthly newsletter, don’t send out 2 or 3 a year. You will lose credibility with your audience.
  

• Use clean designs that are simple. I see some emails that are so busy (bright colors everywhere without consistency and font sizes all over the board) it’s overwhelming and quite frankly…they’re ugly.
  

• Clear, actionable call to action. If there’s something you want your subscribers to do make it easy for them. Don’t make them guess. I’m part of a charity bike race for the American Diabetes Association on June 5th. I’ll use this link as an example of a ‘call to action’ and to ask you if you’d like to sponsor me at the same time. You can see the link in the next section below.
  

• Personalization. When sending to hundreds or thousands of subscribers, why not give them the impression you’re writing specifically to them? Most people realize by now that this is automated, but it still works. Statistics show that personalized emails are always opened at a higher rate than those that are not.
  

• Integration. Using links in your email messages can drive more visitors to your web site, Facebook page, Twitter page, Linkedin page, etc. With email tools like iContact, you can then track all the clicks to see where the interests are with each subscriber.

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Excelleweb Teams Up to Fight Diabetes

I, along with my wife and two friends, are riding in a charity bike race on June 5th to help fund research to find a cure for Diabetes. The Tour de Cure race takes place all over the country, but will be in Central Ohio on June 5th. If you'd like to make a donation for the cause, please click on this link and follow the instructions. I truly appreciate it and those affected by Diabetes appreciate it as well.

Oops! This is the correct link. http://ping.fm/CPC1p

Training is in high gear this month in preparation for the TourDeCure race on June 5th. Any donations are appreciated. http://ping.fm/FKCzV

another web site project approval today, the 3rd one this week. Search engines brought one, networking brought the other two my direction.

Golfers interested in playing on June 18th supporting Diabetes research? Registration form available at http://ping.fm/8acTE

updated the Towne Centre web site http://ping.fm/GJsHZ Read the member success stories link on the home page. Good stuff!

Finding More Email Newsletter Subscribers...

First, let me congratulate all of you for getting your taxes done on time! Happy April 15th! For those of you who haven't finished their returns yet, you should probably save my newsletter and read it a little later...stop procrastinating!

This month I wanted to share some ideas with all of you about how to find more subscribers to your own email newsletters. Many of you who know me personally have heard me say that back in 2004 I started with 16 subscribers and since then I've multiplied that many times over. How did I do it? I used just some of the techniques that I am going to list here for you. Some of these I've come up with on my own and others I've found through researching the internet for ideas.

1. Put an offer on the back of your business cards to get people to sign up for your newsletter.
2. Tradeshows - Bring a clipboard or sign-up book with you to tradeshows and ask for permission to send email to those who sign up.
3. Include a newsletter sign-up link in your signature of all of your emails.
4. Join your local chamber of commerce, email the member list (if it's opt-in) about your services with a link to sign up to your newsletter.
5. Host your own event - Art galleries, software companies (one here has a party every quarter and invites the neighboring businesses), retail shops, consultants (lunch & learn) can all host an event and request attendees to sign up.
6. Offer a birthday club where you give something special to people who sign up.
7. Incentivize your employees - Give them $ for collecting VALID email addresses.
8. Giving something for free like a PDF. Make visitors sign up to your opt-in form before you let them download it.
9. Referrals - Ask you customers to refer you, and in exchange you'll give them a discount.
10. Bouncebacks – Get them back! - Send a postcard or call them asking for their updated email address.
11. Trade newsletter space with a neighboring business, include a link for their opt-in form and ask them to include yours in their newsletter.
12. SEO - Make sure you optimize your site for your keywords. You need to be at the top of the natural search when people are looking for your products or services.
13. Giveaways - Send people something physical and ask for their email address as well as their postal address.
14. Do you have a postal list without emails? Send them a direct mail offer they can only get if they sign up to your email list.
15. Include opt-in forms on every page on your site.
16. Popup windows - When someone attempts to leave your site, pop up a window and ask for the email address.
17. Include a forward-to-a-friend link in your emails just in case your recipient wants to forward your content to someone they think will find it interesting.
18. Include a forward-to-a-friend on every page of your site.
19. Offer a community - Use Ning as your easy-to-set-up community and have your visitors interact and sign up for your newsletter.
20. Offer "Email only" discounts and don't use those offers anywhere but email.
21. Telemarketing - If you've got people on the phone, don't hang up until you ask if you can add them to your newsletter.
22. Put a fishbowl on your counter and do a weekly prize giveaway of your product - then announce it to your newsletter. Add everyone who put their card in on to your newsletter list.
23. Include an opt-in form inside your emails for those people who get your email forwarded to them.
24. Tradeshows - Collect business cards and scan them into a spreadsheet. Make sure you ask permission to send email to them, then mark the card.
25. Use Facebook - Host your own group and invite people to it, then post new links often. From time to time, post a link to sign up for your newsletter.
26. Use Facebook - Post the hosted link from your newsletter into Linked Items to spread the word.
27. Use Facebook - Include an opt-in form on your Facebook Fan page.
28. Use Twitter - Twitter the hosted link of your email campaign every time you launch.

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US Laser Inc. Launches Email Newsletter

My good friend Jeff Rosenberg at US Laser just recently began offering email newsletters to his customers and prospects. If you need any type of printer, scanner, toner cartridges, or service for your existing office equipment you should give them a call (614) 487-3373. They'll take good care of you. Sign up for their email newsletter by sending an email to sales@uslaser.com. You'll receive tips on fixing errors as well as incentive offers.

Tour de Cure: Take the Ride of Your Life!

Tour de Cure: Take the Ride of Your Life!

published my monthly email newsletter earlier this week. You can view the archive of past newsletters at http://ping.fm/xsDHK

I am bicycling 60 miles on June 5th to support the mission of the American Diabetes Association. You can donate at http://ping.fm/wsKkl

Another Way Social Media Can Be Your Friend

I often think that it will be difficult to find good material to write about in my monthly email newsletter, but it never comes to that. I somehow find divine inspiration the day or two prior to publishing each month.

I was discussing the role of social media with search engines with my search engine expert earlier today and realized many folks out there aren't aware of the impact social media can have on search engine rankings. It's just one more way for you to stand out from the crowd online.

If you're posting to FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. attempt to use keyword phrases in your postings that are descriptive of your organization. It is yet another way for search engines to index information that links back to you and your company.

It is not the only thing to get you noticed on Google and other engines, but it is another tool in your tool kit to help you achieve higher rankings. Also please understand it does not take the place of going through SEO (search engine optimization). It complements it.

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Brand Yourself Using Your Email Address

If you happen to use an email address that uses hotmail, aol, earthlink, yahoo, gmail, etc. in the email address you're hurting your corporate brand. These complimentary (no charge) email addresses also convey the message that your company may or may not be legitimate. Because the emails have no cost associated to them, it's easy for people to question your company's credibility.

Register a company domain name and have your email address hosted by a reputable hosting provider. Excelleweb can help you with this if you need assistance. Both with registering a domain name and hosting email. It's not expensive and will brand you and your company properly.

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One Last Tip Regarding Email

For anyone sending sensitive personal information to clients (especially insurance and medical industries) there are new federal guidelines that must be followed (HIPAA HITECH Compliance). Without listing all the details, if any emails are compromised by third parties (hackers) you could be liable for fines $25,000 and up. You can learn more at http://www.hipaa.com.

You need to secure your web site if you have any online forms being submitted that list sensitive information and your emails should have a digital ID and digital signature if appropriate. This will protect you and your clients.

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few; and let those be well-tried before you give them your confidence."--George Washington

don't be fooled by an email from facebook supposedly telling you your password has changed. It is a virus waiting to be launched. http://ping.fm/yFGy7

Apologizing doesn't always mean that you're wrong and they're right. It just means that you value your relationship more than your ego.

finished up a few loose ends on client projects and now can enjoy the rest of Sunday! It'll make Monday go much smoother now.

I referenced this video in my social media presentation today. Seth Godin discusses using social media in business. http://ping.fm/uoL6s

just finished a presentation for Healthcare providers needing to learn Social Media.

finished editing my social media presentation for healthcare providers on Thursday.

Following up on my last post: Also analyze how you're subscribing people. Are you letting them opt-in or are you adding them to your list?

If you have the impression that very few of your subscribers are actually reading your email newsletters, work on creating better content.

I referred to this video last week at the monthly MORE meeting. Keith Ferrazzi makes some great points: http://ping.fm/cRwmy

My friend Dave Smith did a nice job today at the Eastside MORE meeting informing us how to get more from our networking efforts.

Do Not Give Readers Headaches

For at least a decade now every web usability expert has stated that you do not want web site visitors or anyone reading your email newsletters to have to read your content by following the text from one side of the screen to the other. It wears you out after reading a few paragraphs. Yet every day you can find web sites, blogs, newsletters, etc. that force readers to follow from one side of the screen to the other.

The reason you should center your pages is because we're all used to reading 8.5' by 11' pieces of paper. It's easier for our eyes to follow the text from one line to the next. Try this to test the theory. Take a lengthy word document and print two copies of it. One with the orientation as 'portrait' and the other as 'landscape'. Then see if it's easier to read one more than the other and if you can read one more quickly than the other. Newspapers don't publish stories going from one end of the paper to the other, so why would you subject your readers and web visitors to that?

Jakob Nielsen, an expert on web usability, conducted an experiment to test where visitor attention is drawn. Here is a link to the article. Check out the pictures in the article to see where most of us pay attention on web pages.

So please do your visitors and email subscribers a favor and not give them headaches attempting to follow your text.

I updated my portfolio and noticed some of the sites we've designed are down (they are hosted elsewhere). http://ping.fm/lMI6n

updated calendar of events at http://ping.fm/J1wEx

mentoring another AmSpirit Area Director later today, and also working on a new presentation 'Using Social Media to Promote Your Business'.

just updated my AmSpirit Blog...http://ping.fm/6FhHf

AmSpirit members: If you would like access to the forms from my MORE meeting presentation today, go here: http://ping.fm/ptl72

Thanks to all of you who braved the weather to come out to hear me speak at the February MORE meeting for AmSpirit Business Connections.

I have two presentations on Tuesday, rehearsed over and over tonight, and hope that Mother Nature lets me get to where I'm going on Tuesday.

My definition of 'knowing' another business: you would stake your reputation on that person/business delivering great service or products.

I would never ask someone to risk their reputation by 'becoming fans' of a business they knew nothing about or owners they don't know well.

I keep getting asked to 'become a fan' of businesses I do not know. I just sent invites only to clients and close friends for Excelleweb.

To become a 'fan' of another business, I really believe you have to already be a customer or know the leadership team of that business.

'Best of times and the worst of times'. Great meetings this morning and tragic news of a former colleague's passing this afternoon.

AmSpirit networking luncheon at 11:30am today in Plain City at Der Dutchman. Amish cooking and networking, can it get any better?

As much as I love presenting in front of groups, I'm always happiest when I finish. I appreciated the positive feedback attendees provided!

Tips to Protect Your Database

If you have an email sign up form on your web site to gather subscriber information, it's a good idea to monitor the database to weed out any impostors. Recently, I was reviewing information for an upcoming client meeting and noticed someone in their database had signed up as the first and last name of 'Test Record'.

Normally I would have ignored it but noticed that the ending to the email address was the name of a consulting company not affiliated with the client. In reporting this to my client, we found out that the company in question had been soliciting them for business in the past. Essentially what they were attempting to do was monitor my client's email campaigns and gain further information about them. In no way were they the intended target audience.

It's a good idea to browse through your subscriber database periodically to ensure 'seeded addresses' (that's the term sometimes used to define fake email addresses) are not cluttering up your database.

Another item to be cautious about is protecting your own personal data. An article in the Columbus Dispatch on January 17th detailed information about 'phishing'. Phishing is the act of attempting to trick people into giving up personal information through email messages that look like they are coming from legitimate sources like banks and credit card companies. Don't fall victim to it. Call your bank or credit card company to verify whether they needed to contact you.

Deceptive con artists are constantly trying to trick people into divulging personal data so that they can use the information to open up other accounts. Worse yet, they could try to gain access to your money or credit lines.

Just started reading this book. I'd highly recommend it. http://ping.fm/ud3AJ

What Makes the 'Best' Better Than Others?

A summary of an excerpt from Jon Gordon's book, 'Training Camp':

THE BEST KNOW WHAT THEY WANT

“I think a lot of people spend their life being average or good at something, but they don’t strive to be great.”

“The best of the best not only know what they want, but they want it more.”

THE BEST WANT IT MORE

“We cannot measure desire in terms of mere thought and wishes.”

“The best not only do the things that others won’t do and invest the time others won’t invest, but they do so with passion and intent to get better. The best are never satisfied with where they are.”

THE BEST ARE ALWAYS STRIVING TO BE BETTER

“If you are striving to get better, then you are always growing. And if you are always growing, then you are not comfortable. To be the best, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable, and embrace it as a part of your growth process.” It’s a process…

“The best see where there is room for improvement and their humility and passion drives them to improve. The average ones however, don’t see it or don’t want to see it.”

“The fact is past success does not determine future success. Future success is the result of how you work and prepare and practice and how you strive to improve everyday. It’s a commitment that the best of the best make every week, every day, every hour, and every moment. Force yourself to be uncomfortable.”

THE BEST DO ORDINARY THINGS BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE

“Vision without execution is hallucination.”

“Work hard on the right things. It means you must identify the very ‘little things’ that are fundamental to your success, and then you must focus on them, practice them, and strive to execute them to perfection.”

THE BEST ZOOM-FOCUS

“There is no secret recipe.”

“If you incrementally improve each day, each week, each month, by the end of the year you’ll see remarkable results and growth. When you zoom-focus on the process, the outcome takes care of itself.”

“Master the fundamentals.”

THE BEST ARE MENTALLY STRONGER

“Being mentally strong means you stay positive through adversity. It means you are resilient when facing pressure, challenges and change.”

Weed and feed: “Each day you need to weed out negativity and feed it positivity. You need to weed out the self-doubt and negative talk and feed it positive thoughts, memories and visuals.”

“Pay attention to your thoughts…weed out negative thoughts.”

“Being positive or negative is a habit, and you choose the positive.”

THE BEST OVERCOME THEIR FEARS

“Those that succeed, those that reach the pinnacle of greatness, are able to face this battle (overcoming fear) and win.”

THE BEST SEIZE THE MOMENT

“Ironically, even the best have a dream and a vision within their sights. It is the journey, not the destination that matters the most to them. The moment is more important than the success or failure.”

“When the best are in the midst of their performance they are not thinking ‘What if I win?’ or ‘What if I lose?’ They are not interested in what the moment produces, but they are only concerned with what they produce in the moment.”

“Rather than hiding from pressure, they rise to the occasion. As a result, the best define the moment rather than letting the moment define them.”

“You define the moment.”

“Make every moment of your life count. Realize that this is your one shot, yet don’t focus on the result of the outcome of the shot. Just focus on the shot.”

“Seize the moment.”

THE BEST LEAVE A LEGACY

“You leave a legacy by living and working with a bigger purpose, you leave a legacy by making your life about more than just you. You leave a legacy by moving from success to significance.”

THE BEST MAKE EVERYONE AROUND THEM BETTER

“The point is to strive to be your best and inspire others to be their best, because it’s in the striving where you find greatness, not in the outcome.”

Good article, but rather title everyone as winners and losers, I'd rather he would have used 'successful and unsuccessful' people. http://ping.fm/QxF2Q

Do me a favor? If you have a web site, take the opinion poll question appearing on my blog in the right margin http://ping.fm/ctGSh

Jimmy V.: One of the best speeches of all time...http://ping.fm/N6E9K

a trying day, but a good day...now I'm trying to have a great day here on out! Don't give up, don't ever give up, as Jimmy V. once said.

Visiting the Dublin Premier Chapter of AmSpirit Business Connections this morning. Then developing seminars the rest of the day...

While working with a client's email campaign this week, I uncovered a seeded address in their database. I now have a topic for my email newsletter this month, that's for sure. If you're asking yourself, what is a 'seeded email address'?, then you need to subscribe to my email newsletter so that you'll learn what it is and why you should never have them in your email subscriber database. I was really annoyed on behalf of my client and they were upset as well.

If you want to learn more, visit my web site at www.excelleweb.com and subscribe to my email newsletter on the form provided on the left side of the home page.

Happy New Year everyone!

It is a new year and a new decade, depending on who you talk to. Some of you may have noticed the letters to the Columbus Dispatch editor this week complaining about whether we're in a new decade or not. I have better things to do than worry about things like that, right?

In any case, it was time for a new blog template and I've adjusted it just a bit to keep up with the times. I'll still be archiving my email newsletters here, but will also be posting more often if anything newsworthy needs to be shared.

It's going to be a tremendous 2010!!